The wife of the Belarusian human rights activist Ales Byaljatskis tells the AFP news agency that she is overwhelmed by emotions. – I express my deep gratitude to the Nobel Committee and the international community for recognizing the work of Ales, his colleagues and his organisation, says Natalia Pinstjuk. Byalyatskis was awarded the prize together with the Russian organization Memorial and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Rights. Aljes Byalyatski was imprisoned between 2011 and 2014. In 2020, he was arrested and imprisoned again after extensive demonstrations against the regime in Belarus. He is still in prison without a sentence. – Enormous support for us – We are very happy now, says Natalia Petrova, press secretary at Memorial to news. – It is an enormous support for us. We feel that this is recognition from the world community about our work. We are very grateful for this honorable award, she continues. She thinks it is difficult to say what this means for the fight for human rights in Russia because of the war in Ukraine and what is happening in the country now. – We’ll see, but this is very meaningful, and it should be meaningful for the Russian authorities as well. The Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Rights shares the award with Aljes Byalyatski, an activist from Belarus, and the Russian organization Memorial Oleksandra Romantsova from the Center for Civil Rights was called by the Nobel Committee’s secretary Olav Njølstad just before the award was announced. When he explained who he was and where he was calling from, you could clearly hear the tension in her voice. – This is very important to us. It’s incredible, said Romantsova. Oleksandra Romantsova, photographed in February 2021. Photo: Hennadii Minchenko / Zuma Press – The fight for freedom and democracy – I am very happy, says Natalia Petrova. She works in Vyasna, which is Byalyatski’s organization. She tells news that the award is important for their work. Natalia Petrova works in Byalyatski’s organization, Vyasna. Photo: Privar – We are grateful for this honorable award. To Reuters, Petrova says that she hopes the award can lead to Byalyatski becoming promiscuous. Ales Byalyatski Belarusian writer and human rights activist. Educated at the Homiel University of Belarus (history and philology), as well as at the Belarusian Academy of Sciences (literature). Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2022 Born in Vjartsilia in Russian Karelia in 1962 Active in human rights work in the former Soviet Republic of Belarus since the 1980s Leader of the human rights organization Vyasna, which he founded in 1996 Currently in prison in Belarus without a sentence. He has been imprisoned a number of times, including from 2011-2014. Has won several awards, including the Swedish Per Anger Prize in 2006 and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s Sakharov Freedom Prize in the same year. Married to Natalja Pintsjuk and has a son, Adam. Belarus’ opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaja says that the Nobel Prize recognizes the struggle for freedom and democracy after Byalyatski received the prize. – Congratulations to the Belarusian human rights defender and political prisoner Aljes Byaljatski for receiving the Nobel Prize for 2022, she wrote on Twitter. – The award is an important recognition for all Belarusians who fight for freedom and democracy. All political prisoners must be released, she says. Here is Svetlana Tikhanovskaja in the Prime Minister’s office when she visited Norway earlier this year. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB Nominated Memorial several times – Congratulations to the Russian organization Memorial, the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Rights, and activist Aljes Byaljatski from Belarus, with the Nobel Peace Prize, writes Erna Solberg in a press release. Solberg says that she has actually nominated Memorial for the Nobel Peace Prize several times. Høgre also gave the Sjur Lindebrække prize to the organization in 2012, she says further. – In 2015, we gave the same award to the Center for Civil Rights. They have protected the right to criticize power, and made an important attempt to document war crimes and abuse of power. Worthy winners, writes Solberg. NATO leader Stoltenberg also congratulates the winners on Twitter. – The right to speak truth to power is fundamental to free and open societies, writes Stoltenberg. SV leader Audun Lysbakken says that this is a fair and good award. In a press release, he congratulates the winners, and says that the party nominated Memorial for the prize in 2020. – The war in Ukraine and the authoritarian development in Russia is one of the most important threats to global security in many years. It is an important reminder for all of us of the importance of a strong and activist civil society to promote democracy and human rights, says Lysbakken.
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The wife of the peace prize winner: – Overvelda – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
